Tech & Gadget Stream

While Asus and Acer are holding back on releasing new models of netbooks, HP is going the opposite direction by working on an updated 10.1" model that will enter production at the end of September, which will probably result in an October release coupled with Windows 7 alongside the possibility of a next-gen Intel Atom Pineview processor. In addition, HP has asked Quanta to construct a new 11.6" netbook, although it remains to be seen whether it will be another Intel Atom-powered netbook or run on a beefier Intel CULV or AMD Neo processor. What do you think of HP's business acumen - is this the right move considering the current economic climate around the world?

T-Mobile USA just announced yesterday that they will be making the HTC Touch Pro 2 availalbe from August 12th onwards. This handset is more than ready to take over where the HTC Touch Pro left off, and the US release comes quite late long after the handset was made available to folks living across the Atlantic as well as in Asia. Powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC Touch Pro 2 will come with a 3.6" WVGA tilting touchscreen display, Wi-Fi connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera to capture those impromptu shots, a full QWERTY keyboard as well as 3G support and GPS navigation to help you get around. Too bad when it comes to color choices, the Touch Pro 2 in the US will only come in mocha. There is no word on pricing as at press time.

Talk till you drop with the Motorola T215 Bluetooth car speakerphone, where it boasts three days of talktime and was specially designed to work with other hands-free car kits.  Features include a 2W speaker with noise cancellation functionality.  While the Motorola T215 might feature the latest technology, sadly the design seems stuck in the past.  It does make us wonder whether this will ever become a classic or not, but chances are with the Motorola label on it, the answer would sadly be in the negative.

Hitachi has jumped aboard the rugged bandwagon by rolling out its SimpleTOUGH portable USB drive which can shrug off 3 meter drops, alongside the ability to handle the pressure of a 1-ton truck. The unit also comes with an integrated, flexible, foldaway USB cable, making it a snap to power and tuck away in a jiffy. Useful for both local and online backup, the SimpleTOUGH Comes with Hitachi’s Local Backup software alongside the Hitachi Ultimate Backup service that offers free, secure online backup of up to 2GB. You can pick up the SimpleTOUGH in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities, where they will retail for $99.99, $109.99 and $139.99, respectively.

Fashionistas will look forward to this pair of Calvin Klein USB drive sunglasses, where the USB drive itself remains hidden within the arm of the sunglasses itself while offering decent protection against nasty UV rays simultaneously. These new shades can hold 4GB of storage space, and will retail for $199 when it hits the market this October. Overpriced, as usual, and you'd look pretty weird taking off your sunnies just to access data within whenever you work.

DataWind has unveiled its third-generation PocketSurfer - where it will come in PocketSurfer3 and PocketSurfer3 Lite versions. Each of them come with 30 hours of Internet access each month for those living in the UK, where it features a new touchpad to make navigation a snap alongside an improved LCD display. The PocketSurfer3 will rely on its embedded SIM card for mobile data access, relying on a GPRS connection. Too bad streaming video is not supported, leaving you with just static webpages on its 5" LCD display at 640 x 240 resolution.

Samsung has finally rolled out its SCH-W760 cellphone in South Korea, making it the first handset in the world to come with an infrared camera, letting you hold video calls even in low-light situations like a club, where such a situation would best go with a bone conduction Bluetooth headset. In addition, you will still be able to snap much clearer images with the 3-megapixel camera behind, viewing the results on a 2.8" AMOLED display with 240 x 400 resolution. Other features of the SCH-W760 include 8GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot, S-DMB TV support and high speed 3G connectivity. Folks in South Korea can expect to pick up this handset for approximately $457, and it remains to be seen whether Samsung will make available this handset in other markets.

Archos 9 will be one of the next device that will hit the US later this month, where this Windows 7-powered device will come with a 9" touchscreen alongside a virtual keyboard. Folks who are more used to navigation with a mouse, the right side of the device contains an optical trackball and buttons. The Archos 9 will resemble a Mobile Internet Device more than a netbook, where it will run on an Intel Z515 Atom processor, 1GB RAM, Wi-fi connectivity and a 120GB hard drive. There is no word on pricing, but it will arrive later this fall between the $500 to $700 price range.

If the hacking group called iPhone Dev-Team won't release their Jailbreak, it seems like someone else will. Developer George Hotz has released the Purplera1n jailbreak software for iPhone 3GS and by all accounts, it seems to work. This one runs on Windows XP and Vista (Windows 7 and Mac OS aren't supported, apparently - it's weird for Windows 7). The jailbreak assumes that your iPhone runs with OS 3.0 (for a 3GS, that should be the case) and that you have the latest version of iTunes (may be do an update check?). The author warns that the Jailbreak is a beta, so do a full backup before running it just to be safe. Obviously, do this at your own peril, as this is clearly not supported by Apple. Good luck.

We knew that the PSP Go was faster than the PSP-3000, but “by how much” was still a subject of speculation. It is not anymore as an FCC filing makes the PSP Go speed official. With a 480Mhz frequency, it is 44% faster than the previous 333Mhz PSP chip. At first, most developers will make sure that their games are compatible with the PSP, so it's unlikely that they will use the added power for anything affecting the gameplay. However, it's not impossible to think that some eye-candy could be added when running on the PSP Go. Physics, particles, lighting or reflections would be high on the list... As the user base grows, the PSP Go could become a platform in itself as Sony will want to push their highest margin product. Sony could also subsidize Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker to be a “PSP Go only” title for that reason.